Jen Widerstrom Shares One Crazy-Easy Way to Make the Most of Your Weekends

Jen Widerstrom Shares One Crazy-Easy Way to Make the Most of Your Weekends

Jen Widerstrom Shares One Crazy-Easy Way to Make the Most of Your Weekends

You already know Jen Widerstrom as our always-real girl crush, the former badass trainer on The Biggest Loser, and author of Diet Right for Your Personality Type. So yeah, it’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about diet and exercise. But this fall, she’s embarking on a whole new journey as a co-host of Daily Blast Live, a live, interactive program delivering the latest trending news and stories across the web including platforms such as Facebook Live, YouTube, and Instagram. Think of it like CNN Live meets Good Morning America for a new generation.

This means Widerstrom has had to adjust to a brand-new schedule, working long hours, Monday through Friday, (mostly) stuck at a desk. (Sounds familiar, no?) So we spoke with her to find out what her weekends look like now, how it affects the way she eats and exercises, and to nab some advice for you too.

Image: Riker Brothers

Use it as an opportunity.

"With Daily Blast Live, I'm now working Monday through Friday, usually 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., which has made my weekends SOLID. GOLD. It's a golden time for me. It's not time to blow off; it's time to use. I see it as an opportunity—to get a little extra sleep, to have two non-negotiable workout days, to buy groceries and prep food, to make my bed, to do loads of laundry, to stay in my slippers all day. Ironically, I used to use the weekends to dress up and go out. Now I dress up for work every day, so I love the idea of being home by 7:30 p.m. on a Friday, having a beer, and watching four episodes of American Horror Story with my dog."

Make weekends your DAE.

No, not BAE. Your DAE. "I call it, DAE: Do Anything Else—I can do anything else but think about work. I can work out, go to brunch, open up a bottle of chardonnay. It's not about being healthy or unhealthy. It's about eating what I want but also working out, because that makes me feel my best."

Saturdays are for discovery.

"What's great is that on Saturdays, there's always a team workout at the gym I’m at. I'm in a new city, so I go, and they ask, 'Does anyone not have a partner?' And I'm always the one to raise my hand. It’s hard! But then I get to meet someone new. Saturdays are about discovery. I sweat my butt off and I crank hard for an hour. On Sundays, it's different. It's 'open gym,' so it's my time, my space, my pace. I just do what Jen feels like doing without judgment. I literally don’t even count the weight, I just play."

Defy the weekday routine.

"Your control on the weekend is not giving a sh*t. It's a free-for-all! It's like, 'I'm not wearing a bra. I'm not going to cook!' I crave my routine starting Monday; I can't wait to be organized again. If I lived on the weekends every day of the week, I wouldn't make it. I can't live that loosely. But during those two days, it's all about defiance!"

You do you... in moderation.

"[On] the weekdays, I'm more organized. I get home, put fish in the oven, the broccoli is already cooked, dinner: done. Or two eggs, Ezekiel toast, breakfast for dinner: done. On weekends, though, I feel like a breakfast burrito, and I have that, and it's lovely. Do what you want to do, do it in moderation, and make sure to eat enough and drink enough water. The focus isn't so much I need to eat these sorts of foods. It's more I need to make sure I'm getting fuel in."

Just get up.

"I think there's this idea that the weekends are for catching up on sleep. I see so many people sleeping in and wasting the greatest commodity we’ll ever have, which is time. They wake up groggy, maybe go to brunch, then clean up, have some beers, and they’re not fully awake in a consciousness sense.

Do me a favor. Get up on your weekends! If you want an extra hour of sleep, go to bed an hour earlier. Get up early on at least one of those days and use the day. You’ll be blown away by what you can accomplish. If you’re still tired, then take a nap! But just get up."